The New Era of Gold and Silver Mining in Mexico: Extracting Value Beyond the Ore
Technological transformation is creating an opportunity for Mexico to move beyond measuring mining success solely by the volume of minerals extracted and begin assessing it through the businesses, jobs, technologies, and expertise developed around each mine.
Mexico has been a mining nation for centuries. Gold and silver were part of our economic history long before today's global supply chains existed. Yet describing mining solely through traditional images of drilling, explosives, trucks, and processing plants no longer captures the full picture. Around the world, the mining industry is becoming increasingly technological, automated, digital, and specialized, while facing more demanding environmental and social standards.
We are entering a new era of mining.
And for Mexico, perhaps the greatest opportunity lies not only beneath the ground, but in the economic activity built around it.
In 2024, Mexico's gold production reached approximately 3.78 million ounces.
The country ranked as Latin America's leading gold producer and seventh worldwide. Zacatecas accounted for 34.9% of national production, followed by Sonora at 22.9%, Guerrero at 16.5%, Chihuahua at 11.1%, and Durango at 9.1%.
Mexico's position in silver is even more significant. In 2024, the country remained the world's largest silver producer for the sixteenth consecutive year. The Silver Institute estimated Mexican production at approximately 185.7 million ounces that year.
These figures demonstrate the scale of our mineral resources, but they do not fully capture the industry's economic potential.
The question we should be asking is not simply how much gold and silver Mexico can extract, but how much economic value the country can generate around that extraction.
The Mine of the Future
For decades, the mining industry's economic model could be summarized relatively simply: identify a deposit, determine its reserves, develop the mine, extract the ore, process it, and sell the metal.
That model is evolving.
Today, a modern mining operation begins long before an excavator reaches the site. Geologists use three-dimensional modeling; sensors collect millions of data points; drones conduct topographic surveys; digital systems monitor equipment; algorithms optimize operations; laboratories rely on increasingly sophisticated instruments; and artificial intelligence platforms are beginning to support decisions involving predictive maintenance, exploration, safety, and productivity.
Modern mining must also manage water and energy more efficiently, reduce emissions, monitor tailings, strengthen workplace safety, verify mineral traceability, and plan for environmental restoration and eventual mine closure from the earliest stages of a project.
Mexican legislation reflects aspects of this transformation. Following the 2023 reforms, the Mining Law introduced specific obligations concerning mine closure, restoration, rehabilitation, and remediation. Mine closure planning formally became part of a project's life cycle rather than something considered only after extraction had ended.
The new mining industry, therefore, can no longer be viewed exclusively as an extractive activity. It is a complex industrial operation that brings together engineering, software, energy, logistics, environmental services, laboratories, construction, maintenance, safety, transportation, financial analysis, and an extensive range of specialized expertise.
This is where a major opportunity emerges for suppliers.
A Mine Is Also a Supply Chain
When a company announces a mining investment worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the figure immediately attracts attention. Yet much of the investment's economic impact unfolds afterward, over decades, through the goods and services required to keep the operation running.
A mine needs explosives, drilling services, heavy machinery, tires, fuel, lubricants, pumps, pipes, valves, electrical components, ventilation systems, safety equipment, chemical reagents, transportation, and laboratory services.
But it also purchases food, uniforms, accommodations, medical services, telecommunications, software, engineering, maintenance, training, insurance, financial services, and legal and environmental consulting.
A mining operation can therefore become the center of an entire business ecosystem.
The challenge is determining how much of that ecosystem develops within Mexico and how much economic value remains in the communities and states where mining takes place.
National economic policy is beginning to pay greater attention to this issue. Plan México explicitly calls for increasing higher-value local sourcing, raising domestic content, replacing imports, and connecting regional economic strengths with innovation, education, and productive development.
During 2026, Congress has also considered proposals to more explicitly incorporate the strengthening of local value chains into mining policy. These discussions recognize that closer integration between mining operations and suppliers could expand the industry's economic impact in the regions where it operates. Although the matter remains under legislative consideration, it reflects an important shift in the conversation about mining and development.
The key, however, should not simply be to mandate local content.
The real objective must be to develop local suppliers capable of competing.
From Local Supplier to Global Competitor
A company should not win a contract simply because it operates near a mine. It should earn that contract because it can meet standards for quality, safety, pricing, delivery times, environmental responsibility, and financial capacity.
That distinction is fundamental.
The most effective mining supplier development policy is not about closing markets, but about strengthening regional businesses until they can compete with national and international suppliers.
Certifications, access to financing, technical training, digitalization, quality management systems, and stronger relationships with major mining companies should all form part of a deliberate business development strategy.
Mexico's Mining Development Trust (FIFOMI) recognizes activities such as equipment distribution, repair and maintenance, mineral transportation, and specialized supply services as part of the mining value chain eligible for financing and technical assistance.
This creates considerable opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses.
A Mexican company that begins by repairing pumps for a single mine may eventually develop the capacity to serve five operations. From there, it could become a regional distributor, manufacture components, integrate sensors, export services, and ultimately compete in Chile, Peru, Canada, or the United States.
That is where genuine economic diversification takes place.
Sonora offers a particularly compelling example.
The state is home to one of Mexico's most significant concentrations of mining activity. Recent official data indicate that Sonora produces more than 80% of the country's copper and remains an important producer of gold and other minerals. The state government also estimates that mining and its associated supply chain support more than 155,000 direct and indirect jobs.
But Sonora's advantage extends beyond its mineral deposits.
Over decades, the mining industry has helped establish a network of engineers, workshops, transportation companies, construction firms, environmental specialists, manufacturers, distributors, and service providers. The Sonora Mining Cluster has identified supplier professionalization as a key means of connecting regional businesses with the needs of major mining operations.
There is room to take this model further.
Hermosillo could increasingly become a center for corporate, financial, technological, and engineering services for the mining industry. Cananea and Nacozari could continue expanding their technical and maintenance capabilities, while Caborca could strengthen the business ecosystem surrounding gold mining operations. Proximity to Arizona also creates opportunities to integrate cross-border supply chains involving machinery, technology, automation, and specialized services.
Gold, Silver, and Technology
There is also an interesting paradox: the very metals we extract are helping drive the technological revolution that is transforming how we extract them.
Gold remains a financial asset and store of value, but it is also used in advanced electronics. During the first quarter of 2026, demand for gold in industrial applications increased, with the World Gold Council identifying the global expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure as one of the factors supporting demand from the electronics sector.
Silver has an even more direct connection to the industrial and technological economy.
Solar panels, electronics, vehicles, electrical grids, and numerous industrial applications depend on this metal. The global silver market has experienced structural deficits for several years, while Mexico remains a vital source of global supply.
This means Mexico's mining industry is not separate from the energy transition or the digital economy. It is part of the physical infrastructure that makes both possible.
And that is precisely why we should aspire to capture a greater share of the value chain.
Natural resources should be the starting point, not the end goal.
The True Wealth of Mining
For years, the debate over mining in Mexico has been polarized between those who focus exclusively on its economic benefits and those who concentrate solely on its impacts.
The new era of mining requires us to move beyond that divide.
Mexico needs mining investment, but it also needs better projects. It needs exploration, legal certainty, environmental protection, community participation, responsible water management, workplace safety, and companies capable of operating according to international standards.
And it needs a strong network of suppliers.
Because every mine will eventually reach the end of its productive life. Mineral deposits are finite.
But the expertise gained by an engineering company can endure. A specialized workshop can remain in business. A trained technician can work on other projects. A software company can sell its services abroad. A university can educate new generations of specialists. A local supplier can grow into an export-oriented business.
This is perhaps the most important principle behind the new era of mining.
The gold and silver extracted from the ground represent mineral wealth. The businesses, capabilities, jobs, technologies, and expertise that remain afterward represent economic development.
Mexico has the foundations for both.
We have world-class mineral deposits and regions with deeply established mining traditions. The next step is to transform these geological assets into increasingly sophisticated and interconnected productive ecosystems.
The mine of the future should not be judged solely by the ounces of gold or silver it produces.
We should also ask how many Mexican businesses grew because of it, how many engineers were trained, how many technologies were developed, how much domestic content was incorporated, and how many suppliers began by serving a Mexican mine before going on to compete internationally.
When that happens, we will no longer be talking only about extraction.
We will be talking about mining as a true driver of economic development.
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